Here are some of the tips they
suggest for unleashing your creative potential -- both at home and at work.
Expand your horizons... literally
Spaciousness helps broaden thoughts.
Even high ceilings have been shown to broaden attention. Small, windowless
offices, low ceilings and narrow corridors will do little to inspire our brains
and make us flexible, creative thinkers.
Color
is key
Relaxing outdoor colors such as blue
and green contribute to this state. "Emergency" colors such as red
suppress it. Surprisingly, dark colors and dim lighting can also be beneficial:
by obscuring visual details, they help people think more abstractly.
Get
moving
Static surroundings encourage static
thinking. Don't be predictable. You should sometimes change everyday routines,
such as where you go for coffee or your route to work. Rearrange your furniture
and decor from time to time, at home and in your workplace. Hold meetings in a
variety of places.
Make sure to include some
nonconformists in your inner circle. Unusual people tend to be out-of-the-box
thinkers, and their unique outlook might help you attack a problem from a
different angle.
Ditch
the deadline
The threat of a firm deadline will
narrow your thinking and inhibit your insight. Try and use soft target dates
and a flexible schedule to establish a helpful, nonthreatening time frame.
Rewards and punishments for meeting or missing deadlines, if needed at all,
should be vague and mild so they don't contribute added pressure.
Don't
worry, be happy (that's an order)
A positive outlook will help
stimulate a more open mind, one that can process a greater number of ideas. If
you struggle to think happy, try focusing on the people and things that bring
you joy. To put a twist on Pasteur's famous saying, chance favors the happy
mind.
Change
direction
When you're stuck on a problem, take
a break to do or think about something very different. Expose yourself to a
variety of people and places. Listen to music or go to a pleasing movie, art
exhibit or talk a walk. Play a game, dance, do yoga, read. Insight triggers
appear at the most unlikely times and places.
Take
a cat nap
We all know how important sleep is
to our cognitive thinking. The sleep-deprived mind is more likely to fixate on
small matters -- an absolute killer to creativity. Ample sleep also helps
foster the discovery of hidden connections between ideas.
Find
your peak time of day, then work against it
Insightful thought is at its best
when your powers of inhibition are weaker, because reduced focus opens up your
awareness to remote associations that wouldn't come to you when you're feeling
sharp. If you're an early bird, you should try doing your creative work at
night. If you're a night owl, try the morning.
Do
whatever it takes to reduce anxiety
Perhaps the single most important
thing to remember is that your mental state can change. It takes a while to
sink into an insightful mindset. Try and schedule uninterrupted blocks of time
for relaxed, freewheeling creative thought. Turn off your phone. Get rid of the
clock. Let abstract ideas and vague impressions flow where they will.
Tips have been extracted from the book "The Eureka Factor", which has been written by Dr. John Kounios and Dr. Mark Beeman.
Comments
Post a Comment